


Pink

by MidnightBlaze16



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: (as of season 4), Blood, Canon Compliant, Double Trouble is 12 at the start and 14 at the end, Flutterina is 11 at the start and 13 at the end, Transphobia, Transphobia mention, bc apparently DT's parents are even bigger assholes than shadow weaver lmao, yes I wrote almost 9000 words based off of a headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 17:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21432076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBlaze16/pseuds/MidnightBlaze16
Summary: "The first thing they noticed about her was pink. She was the pinkest thing Double Trouble had ever seen, with pale rosey skin and magenta hair and a fairly simple pink and yellow dress. Her ears were pointed and when she turned around Double Trouble saw that she had wings resembling those of a butterfly. She looked just like what you would imagine a fairy to look like."Based on a headcanon regarding Double Trouble and Flutterina.
Relationships: Double Trouble & Flutterina, cuz if future seasons show flutterina being real and alive then that's a creepy age difference, this ended up being able to be interpreted as platonic OR romantic but i didn't wanna use a ship tag
Comments: 20
Kudos: 81





	Pink

The Whispering Woods was a long way from the Crimson Waste, and was nothing like the land Double Trouble used to call home. Plants of all kinds grew taller than even Grox’s parents could reach, and the ground was covered in flowers and weeds that Double Trouble had never even seen before. They’d thought that maybe sticking to the treetops would have kept them from having to deal with any annoying plant life, but they still got tangled up in the vines and branches - not that it mattered since they could just shift their way out of them, but it was still somewhat annoying.

They weren’t used to this much animal life, either. When they looked closely at the ground below they saw insects buzzing amongst the flowers. Birds and rodents lived in the trees, some of which were admittedly quite beautiful, but it was still annoying when they got indignant about Double Trouble making their way through their home. They all acted so high and mighty but a quick flash of Double Trouble’s pointed teeth always sent them running immediately.

They wanted to go home. Back to where the only plants around were unmoving cacti and where animal life was scarce. Back to the Valley of the Lost, where they could hide atop of buildings and not have to worry about some strange small creature yelling at them to get off its lawn.

But they couldn’t go back. If they did, they would have to face their family. The family who hated their powers, the family who insisted they were a boy-

No, no more thinking about that. They ran away in order to form a new life - something that shouldn’t be difficult for someone of their abilities...

Double Trouble was drawn out of their thoughts by the unpleasant sound of a child’s laughter. What child in their right mind (other than themselves) would willingly come to a place like this?

They followed the sound to a small clearing where they saw a young girl. The first thing they noticed about her was pink. She was the pinkest thing Double Trouble had ever seen, with pale rosey skin and magenta hair and a fairly simple pink and yellow dress. Her ears were pointed and when she turned around Double Trouble saw that she had wings resembling those of a butterfly. She looked just like what you would imagine a fairy to look like.

Double Trouble knew they should just leave her alone and be on their way, but this girl intrigued them. Maybe it was the way the wind seemed to chime with her laughter, or the abundance of energy they could sense from her, or the fact that she stood out so much compared to the general vibe of the Whispering Woods. They couldn’t help but stare at her from the treetops and she ran and twirled, taking in the joy of movement, somehow moving effortlessly through the tangling flora at her feet-

She tripped.

And as she flopped to the ground, wings sprawling out, Double Trouble could no longer remain silent, unable to hold back the roaring laughter. They could feel the girl’s glare on them as they revelled in the moment, joyous tears welling in their eyes as their own venomous laughter replaced her’s.

Still, they had an audience now, so they collected themselves before making eye contact with the girl. Anger and confusion swirled in her violet eyes.

“My sincerest apologies for my rudeness,” Double Trouble said, standing up and bowing. “I simply could not help but find your fall highly amusing.”

“Who are you?!” the girl demanded in a voice that sounded like the wind.

“Double Trouble, at your service~” they said, hopping to the floor and adopting their most sinister gait. Their tail swished behind them, brushing against the weeds and grass. “Tell me, what is a little girl like you doing so far out into the Whispering Woods?”

“I should be the one asking you that,” she argued, standing her ground as Double Trouble approached. “I always come out here and I’ve never seen you before,” she paused for a moment. “And who are you calling ‘little’!? I’m 11!”

Double Trouble hid their surprise - she looked so young, yet she was only one year younger than themselves. They didn’t let this cause them to falter, though. “You should know that many unsavoury things dwell within these woods...” as they said this, they blinked sideways and curled their tail up. The girl tensed but stood her ground.

“You just look like a kid to me.”

Double Trouble was getting annoyed. It seemed like their sly approach and smug attitude was barely affecting this girl at all. “You’re quite the brave one, aren’t you Pinkie?”

“PINKIE!?”

“Too boring? How about ‘Rosey’ then?”

“My name is Flutterina!”

Double Trouble couldn’t help but laugh again. “Flutterina? That’s even more cutesy than anything I could have come up with!”

Flutterina growled, her fists clenched. “W-well, what sort of a name is ‘Double Trouble’ anyway!?”

“One that should warn others not to mess with me,” Double Trouble replied with a smirk, leaning forward.

“You little-” Flutterina stepped forward, but flinched when her right foot hit the ground. Her breath hitched and she tried not to shudder. Double Trouble’s smirk fell and they looked down at her leg to see it bleeding. She must have cut it on some thorns when she tripped.

“Looks like somebody’s in a bit of a pickle.”

Flutterina glared at them and tried to step forward again, but stumbled. Her breath hitched as she shut her eyes tight, trying to hold back tears.

Compelled by some strange emotion, Double Trouble walked over to her. “I suppose we should fix up that leg of yours.”

“What do you-hey!” Flutterina flailed and kicked as Double Trouble picked her up with ease. “Let go of me!”

“No-can-do, darling,” Double Trouble replied airily as they moved out of the clearing and searched for somewhere they could put her down where the undergrowth would be flatter. They ignored Flutterina’s protests and looked around, eventually spotting a fallen log and calmly walking over to it as if they weren’t holding a very angry small child. They put her down, surprised when she didn’t try and get up as soon as they let her go. Perhaps she wasn’t quite as reckless as they first thought.

“What on Etheria do you think you’re doing!?”

“Helping you. Unless, of course, you’d prefer I leave you stranded in the middle of the Whispering Woods,” Double Trouble replied, looking Flutterina in the eye. She glared for a moment before looking away, grumbling under her breath as Double Trouble removed their rucksack from their shoulder and dug through for the first aid kit they had packed.

They weren’t sure why they had decided to help her. After all, they’d only ever looked out for themselves in the past. Perhaps it was simply out of a desire to see a friendly face, perhaps they felt some kind of guilt over laughing so hard at her when she’d been hurt so badly...no, that _certainly_ wasn’t it. They weren’t sure why or how, but something had drawn them to her. Something about this girl - Flutterina, she said her name was - had entranced them. Perhaps it was her bright eyes, or her silvery yet slightly raspy voice, or her light movements, or how she had stood up to them so defiantly. Either way, they felt compelled to learn more about her.

Finding what they needed, they turned back to Flutterina and delicately grabbed her leg.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

“I need to disinfect the wound. I’d recommend staying still if you want it to hurt less,” Double Trouble stated, in a very matter-of-fact way. Flutterina complied, looking away again but stealing glances at them, clearly nervous and probably distrusting. They considered offering to shift into somebody more familiar to help calm her nerves, but they felt like revealing their shapeshifting abilities right now may simply frighten her further.

To Flutterina’s credit, she barely flinched when the alcohol touched her skin, her wings rising as she did so. She bit her lip as Double Trouble gently dabbed over her wound with a cloth, showing far more maturity than Double Trouble would have expected from a child who didn’t grow up in the Crimson Waste.

“Why are you helping me?”

Her voice was soft, so much so that if not for Double Trouble’s large ears they may not have heard.

“I don’t know.”

Clearly this wasn’t the answer Flutterina was looking for as she huffed, pouting and looking away.

“So,” Double Trouble said in a conversational tone as they grabbed a bandage from the kit. “Tell me about yourself~! Your hobbies, your likes, your dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses, your greatest fears~”

“Why should I?”

“Why not?” they replied, lifting her leg again. “There’s no harm in getting to know each other a little, is there?”

Flutterina thought for a moment. “Fine, but you have to tell me about yourself too.”

“Naturally, darling.”

Flutterina watched and thought as Double Trouble gently wrapped the bandage around her leg. She wasn’t sure this much effort was necessary when a simple large bandaid or two would probably be enough, but looking to Double Trouble’s first aid kit she could see that they didn’t really seem to _have_ any. In fact, everything they had seemed to be the kind of stuff you would need for more serious injuries, nothing for the more mild scrapes or bruises...

“Where do you come from?” she asked.

Double Trouble smirked as they fastened the bandage but kept ahold of her leg as they looked up at her. “The Crimson Waste.”

They were surprised when Flutterina’s eyes lit up. They had been expecting that information to frighten her, but-

“That’s so cool! I thought the Crimson Waste was a wasteland where nobody could survive!” she shouted, jumping onto her feet and spreading her wings. She immediately cringed and sat back down again, taking deep breaths as the pain faded, her wings slowly lowering as it did. “You really live there?”

“Lived.”

Flutterina noticed Double Trouble’s solemn tone. “Why did you leave?”

Double Trouble sighed and closed their eyes, and when they opened them the glint in their eye had returned. “The people there didn’t appreciate my talents~! It’s their loss I suppose, I highly doubt anybody else of my abilities will be appearing anytime soon.”

“Abilities?”

Double Trouble grinned, their fangs clearly showing as they stepped back with a twirl. Their body melted away into a black silhouette bathed in green light that quickly changed its shape. They become shorter and their tail disappeared, wings growing in their place. Colour returned to their body and when they opened their eyes, they were the same hue as those of the girl in front of them.

“Ta-da~” they shouted in a voice not their own. “What do you think?”

Flutterina’s expression slowly changed from shock to awe, her lack of fear once again surprising Double Trouble. “That’s so cool!! Can you change into anybody you want?”

Double Trouble’s heart soared and they tried to hide their joy when they replied, shifting back to their true form as they spoke. “I prefer ‘transform’!”

“Awesome...” Flutterina said, eyes sparkling.

“You...really think so?” Double Trouble asked, no longer able to contain their joy. “I mean, I always knew I was amazing, but...nobody else ever seemed to agree...”

“What do you-”

“But enough about me!” Double Trouble interrupted. “I want to know all about _you_.”

“Well, there’s not much to tell,” Flutterina said bashfully. “I live in a village just outside the Whispering Woods. My dad runs a restaurant and he wants me to take over the family business.”

“Well, cooking is certainly an art form onto itself.”

“But I don’t wanna be a chef!” Flutterina protested, standing up abruptly. This time she was prepared for the pain and stood her ground, even after flinching, holding up her fists. “I wanna fight in the Rebellion! I wanna help protect people from the Horde!”

“Why in the world would you want something like that?” Double Trouble asked. “Fighting in a war is so dull...”

Flutterina pouted. “It is not! I wanna help people! But...nobody in my village thinks I can do it. They all just wanna stay out of it.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Maybe not, but we don’t even have guards! If the Horde attacked us, we wouldn’t even be able to defend ourselves!”

“That is a reasonable concern, I suppose...”

Silence fell over the two of them again. Flutterina sat back down on the log, and Double Trouble sat next to her. Flutterina moved closer, resting her head on their shoulder, much to their surprise.

“I just don’t wanna lose anybody else...” she said. “I don’t wanna watch friends leave the village and not come back. That’s why I spend so much time out here - the Whispering Woods can be pretty hard to move around in, so it’s sort of like training, I guess...”

Double Trouble thought for a moment. “I suppose...I could train you.”

Flutterina lifted her head to look at them in surprise. “Huh?”

“In case you forgot, I grew up in the Crimson Waste. I know a thing or two about defending myself,” they smirked. “Of course I won’t just do it for free.”

“You want money?!”

“No, not for now at least. Money is no use to me out here,” Double Trouble put a hand over their stomach and leaned forward dramatically. “But I am ever so hungry...”

“Oh! Yeah of course, that’s no problem!” Flutterina smiled again. “Why don’t I meet you out here tomorrow?”

“Sounds like we have an agreement~”

* * *

“Too slow~” Double Trouble taunted as they hopped back just out of Flutterina’s reach every time she got close. Her hands clenched around the stick she was using as a weapon and her swings became more wild.

“Easy there, Buttercup,” Double Trouble teased. Flutterina growled at the pet name as she leapt forward and Double Trouble had to duck out of the way in order to avoid being hit. They pouted as they returned to their full height. “Not that one either, huh?”

Flutterina shifted her weight and crouched down low. Suddenly, she rushed forward, sending the leaves at her feet into a flurry behind her before Double Trouble had a chance to think. Unable to dodge, they quickly changed form into that of a hummingbird and hovered up into the branches of a nearby tree.

“Hey!” Flutterina pouted and pointed up at them. “No shifting!”

“Party pooper,” Double Trouble replied, shifting back with a pout. “How about we take a break for now? All this dodging has made me quite peckish!”

Flutterina huffed and walked back to the log, leaning her stick against the tree. Double Trouble couldn’t help but take a glance at it as they approached, noting that the pink ribbon Flutterina had tied around the stick when she first found it had started to fray a little. If they were honest, they were very impressed with her progress - they had only met a few months ago and yet she was already far lighter on her feet than she used to be, and when she did occasionally manage to land a hit on them, Double Trouble could _definitely_ feel the power behind it - she'd actually left them with a few bruises in the past.

Though they supposed she wasn’t the only one who had grown a lot in that time. At first when they had agreed to train her, their main motive was twofold - payment and curiosity. They wanted to know more about her, figure out what made her so alluring, but they’d honestly planned on simply moving on once they had learned all they needed and stocked up on enough food. Instead, they’d found themselves quickly growing attached to her bright personality, kind heart and determination.

“You know, when I asked you to start training me I didn’t mean for you to make fun of me all the time.”

“Oh, but it’s just so much fun!” Double Trouble exclaimed before sitting down next to her. “Besides, when you’re up against the Horde, they won’t hesitate to taunt you. You’ll need to be prepared to deal with that if you wish to fight them.”

“Yeah...” Flutterina leaned back and chuckled. “Thank you, o wise one~”

“I only live to serve!”

Flutterina leaned over to where she’d left her picnic basket and pulled it in front of her. She fetched out two rolls of bread and handed one to the shapeshifter. “It’s still hard to believe you’re only 12...”

“Well, you have to grow up fast when you live in the Crimson Waste.” Double Trouble replied, taking a bite out of the bread roll, revealing it to be filled with green jam. “Oh, and you even remembered to bring my favourite!”

“What’s it like?”

“Delicious-”

“Not the bread, dummy!” Flutterina interrupted,feigning annoyance despite her giggles and lightly punching Double Trouble’s arm. “I meant growing up in the Crimson Waste!”

“Ugh, it was oh so unpleasant,” they replied, taking another bite and taking a full moment to chew and swallow before continuing. “You wouldn’t want to hear about it.”

Flutterina sighed. She’d expected as much, Double Trouble was never really willing to open up too much about their past. “Can’t you just tell me_ something_ about the Crimson Waste?”

Double Trouble cleared their throat. “Well, you see, it’s actually less of a ‘crimson’ and more of a ‘sienna’-”

“Double Trouble!”

Double Trouble simply laughed, a laugh that was somehow venomous but sweet at the same time, like a snake that means well but can’t help it’s deadly bite. It had certainly been off-putting at first, but Flutterina had grown used to it and was now drawn to it in the same way she was to Double Trouble themselves. Eventually, she couldn’t help but laugh along.

However, the moment passed, and the two were then left in silence.

“Sorry,” Flutterina muttered. “For prying so much.”

“It’s quite alright, Lavender,” Double Trouble replied. “I understand your curiosity but I assure you it really wasn’t all that interesting.”

“Lavenders aren’t even pink.”

“No, I suppose not, but they do match your eyes,” Double Trouble sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know why you keep rejecting the nicknames I come up with for you.”

“That’s because all your nicknames are dumb.”

Double Trouble gasped, putting a hand on their chest. “Why, I am utterly insulted! To think that the one I called my best friend would wound me so!” They fell backwards. “I feel the pain of betrayal in my very _soul_! To think I once believed in a thing called love~”

“Alright, alright, I get it!” Flutterina laughed, barely able to complete her sentence through the chuckles. “Why do I even need a nickname anyway?”

“Well, I suppose you don’t _need_ one, but it’s fun to have one!” Double Trouble declared, finishing the last piece of their bread. “And we both know I’m brilliant at doing unnecessary things just for the fun of it.”

“You’re not wrong,” Flutterina stood up and stretched her hands above her head, her wings sprawling out as she did so. “Alright, what do you say we get back to training?” she offered, holding out her hand.

And Double Trouble smiled a genuine smile as they took her hand.

* * *

“Well, if I may say as much, I think those kids at your school sound simply awful!!” Double Trouble remarked.

“I know! Man, I wish I could just-” Double Trouble let go of Flutterina’s hair just in time for her to stand up and throw some punches and kicks into the air, making sound effects with each attack. “Ugh! It’s so frustrating!”

“Why don’t you?”

Flutterina huffed, sitting back down again. “My dad will get mad if I fight anybody...”

Double Trouble hummed as they gently ran their hand through Flutterina’s soft hair before picking up a few locks in one hand and raising the brush with the other. “But you know, you could always just threaten them. If they don’t tell anybody who hurt them, you won’t get in trouble.”

“Nah, there’s no way I’d ever be able to scare anybody,” Flutterina sighed. “I’m too _cute_ and _pink_!”

“That just means they’ll underestimate you,” the shapeshifter counted, slightly distracted by how smoothly the hairbrush ran through Flutterina’s magenta locks. “They won’t see you coming~”

“...Yeah, good point!”

“Not to change the subject, but I wanted to say that I absolutely _love_ what you’re doing with your hair!” Double Trouble exclaimed. “It’s so soft! What shampoo do you use?”

“Uh...normal shampoo?”

“I suppose it must just come to you naturally then,” Double Trouble put down the brush and ran their fingers through their own hair. It had grown longer over the past year or so, but it was still only just past their neck. “I always wanted to have hair as long as yours.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“My parents didn’t approve.”

As tempting as it was, Flutterina knew at this point not to pry about Double Trouble’s past. It was clearly a sore subject for them.

“Well, I think you’ll look great with long hair,” she said instead. “And then one day I’ll brush it for you like you do for me!”

Double Trouble smiled softly. “I’d love that, Flutters.”

“That one wasn’t even creative.”

“You never said I couldn’t use it~”

* * *

“Double Trouble? Are you out here?”

Flutterina sighed as silence once again met her ears. She had come to the log where Double Trouble had made a home for themselves, but they were nowhere to be seen, so she headed out to try and look for them. She must have been out here for hours at this point, and there was still no sign of the shapeshifter...and the area was starting to look more and more unfamiliar...

Flutterina jumped when she heard a twig snap behind her and whipped around, raising her trusty stick. Nothing seemed to move, all was still and silent. “It was probably just a mouse...”

She turned back around but didn’t lower her stick, listening out behind her. The only sounds she could hear were her own footsteps in the grass and the ever present mutterings of the Whispering Woods.

“Double Trouble?” she called out again, and once again only silence responded. She was starting to get worried. Where had they gone? Why had they left? Did something happen to them? Did they just not like her anymore?

She snapped back to attention when she heard a sound. She turned her head, listening out for anyone, anything- there it was again! It was soft, almost too soft to hear, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. She followed the general area she thought the sound came from, taking slow, light steps so as to not drown it out, and the sound gradually grew louder until she could recognise it.

Was someone...crying?

Flutterina rushed forward, keeping her footsteps light and quiet just as Double Trouble had taught her so as not to scare whoever was sobbing. She burst through the trees and almost ran straight into a cliffside partially covered in plants and vines.

“What...?” she muttered, putting a hand on the stone. She pressed her ear to a crack in the wall. The noise was coming from somewhere inside the cliffside, she was sure of it, but how? She looked over the stone wall a few times before noticing what seemed to be a space behind some of the vines.

Slowly, she approached it. She reached out and pushed aside the vines to see a small opening in the cave, and when she leaned in she could hear the crying grow louder.

Flutterina pushed her stick forward through the opening before climbing in herself, barely able to fit through the small gap. Once she was inside she stood up, retrieving her stick and keeping it held high in case she needed to fight. She was in a short tunnel that looked like it lead to a larger cave.

“Hello?” she called out, her voice bouncing off the cave walls and echoing through the entire cliff. The sobbing abruptly stopped.

Flutterina ran forward to the end of the tunnel and entered the dark cave. There was a small hole in the roof where water poured through into a small stream that ran further through another tunnel on the other side of the cave. She looked around and saw a figure curled up in the shadows against the far wall, who seemed to be shuddering.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Flutterina murmured, not wanting to startle them as she slowly approached. The figure turned their head slightly to look at her with one piercing yellow and green eye.

“Double Trouble!?” Flutterina exclaimed, dropping her stick and running over to her best friend. “Double Trouble, what happened? What’s wrong?”

Double Trouble simply shook their head, failing to hold back further tears as they curled into themselves, their tail wrapped around their ankles. Flutterina had never seen them like this, she’d never really seen them truly sad at all, they were always so cheerful and confident and seeing them sobbing in the corner like this completely threw her off and she couldn’t think of anything to do other than hug them. So that’s what she did.

“Don’t,” Double Trouble said, flinching away. “Don’t do that...”

“What? Why?”

Double Trouble chuckled, but there was no joy in it. They lifted their head to look at her with a smirk. “You know, you just keep surprising me, Flutters. I never expected you to be such a good actor.”

“What on Etheria are you talking about?”

“One of your classmates found me. Told me the truth.”

“The truth?”

“That you hate me,” Double Trouble closed their eyes. “I didn’t believe it at first, but it makes perfect sense. Nobody ever liked me back in the Crimson Waste either.”

“Double-”

“It’s alright, darling,” they said, giving her that charming smirk of theirs with none of the joy that gave it such charm in the first place. “You can go ahead and leave now.”

“No way!” Flutterina leaned forward and took Double Trouble’s hands. “Why would I ever hate you? You’re awesome, and funny and a great friend! You’re my best friend.”

“How can I trust you?”

“You can trust me because...” Flutterina thought for a moment. “Because I trust you. And...I trusted you when we first met. So...you owe me the same.”

Double Trouble chuckled again, and this time it sounded just a little bit more genuine. “And how do I know you won’t change your mind and leave me?”

“I’ll never leave you, Double Trouble,” Flutterina replied, pressing her forehead against theirs. “I’m here. I’m right here and I’ll always be here. I promise.”

* * *

Double Trouble paced back and forth in front of their log, unable to keep a nervous smile off their face. They paused and grinned before changing into Flutterina.

“Oh, this just is so wonderful!” they said, miming holding something and closing their eyes.

Double Trouble shifted back to their normal form and jumped to the side. “You’re so very welcome, darling~” they ‘replied’ with a bow and a flourish.

They once again shifted to Flutterina. “You’re the best friend ever, Double Trouble! I’m so glad I met you!”

Hearing footsteps, Double Trouble froze, quickly shifting to their normal form and smoothing out their hair - which was now much closer to a length they preferred - and standing up straight.

Flutterina emerged from behind the trees, immediately smiling when she saw the shapeshifter.

“Double Trouble!” she exclaimed as she ran over to them and gave them a quick hug as she always did before pulling back.

“My dear Flutterina, how are you on this fine day?”

“Great! I’ve been practicing my twirls, just like you asked me to!” she replied, stepping back. She pulled her stick from its handmade sheath and rotated it in her hands, quickly falling into a rhythm of spinning it one way and another and switching between hands. She attempted to spin it faster but fumbled and groaned as the stick fell out of her hands and cluttered to the floor. Double Trouble barely stifled a laugh.

“Don’t.” she said as she bent down.

“But I didn’t do anything~”

“So, what are we working on today?” Flutterina asked, having retrieved the stick she’d been using as a weapon for well over a year now. The original pink ribbon she’d wrapped around it was barely even threads anymore, but luckily had a newer, similar one - pink with a green stripe - tied beneath it.

“I was hoping we could just spend some time together first.”

Flutterina blinked, a little surprised that Double Trouble was the one who actually _asked_ to just hang out. They’d always been more than happy to when she asked, but had never really been the initiator. “Sure!”

Flutterina sat down on her spot of the log, expecting Double Trouble to plop down next to her. Instead, they walked over to what they had called the Storage Tree - a tree with a small burrow in it where the two of them would keep food and supplies.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to give you a gift!” Double Trouble said, fetching something from the burrow and immediately hiding it behind their back as they turned to her.

“A gift?” Flutterina asked, shocked. Double Trouble nodded, seeming almost...nervous? She wasn't sure, she'd never really seen them like this before.

“Close your eyes for me.”

Flutterina was quick to comply, eager to see what Double Trouble could have gotten her.

“Now hold out your hands.”

She did so. Almost immediately she felt a weight and something...bumpy? She wasn’t sure how to describe it and didn’t get much time to think about it before Double Trouble spoke again.

“Open them!”

She opened her eyes to see Double Trouble kneeling in front of her, hands clasped together in front of their chest and tail swishing back and forth. She looked down to her hands to see a necklace hanging from her fingers. It seemed to made of some sort of thick string and decorated with all kinds of small, smooth coloured rocks of pink, purple and yellow. In the centre was some kind of pink gem that Flutterina could see her reflection in.

“I found most of the rocks myself, though the opal I had to find at a store in town,” Double Trouble explained. “I even made sure to actually pay for it - I knew you’d be annoyed if I stole it.”

Flutterina looked back up at them in awe. “But...why? Why did you go to all this effort for me?”

Double Trouble looked almost bashful when they replied. “Well...because you’re special, Flutterina. You’re the first true friend I’ve ever had. I wanted to thank you.”

Flutterina couldn’t hold back the tears of happiness that welled in her eyes as a huge smile spread across her face. She sprung forward and wrapped her arms around Double Trouble, who fell backwards from the sudden weight and barely managed to catch themselves from falling onto their back. “I love it! This is so sweet, Double Trouble!”

The shapeshifter blushed. “W-well, I knew I couldn’t just give you something without putting the utmost effort into it.”

Flutterina shook her head. “Just the fact that you gave me anything at all is already really sweet!” she leaned back, still sitting in Double Trouble’s lap as she looked at the necklace again. “I’ll treasure it forever!” she said as she gently put it over her head. “You’re the best friend I could ever have, Double Trouble!”

Double Trouble smiled softly and gave Flutterina a gentle hug. “And you as well, Flutters.”

* * *

Double Trouble smiled softly at the calendar hanging on the Storage Tree. Flutterina had given it to them at the start of the year to help them keep track of the passage of time. Today’s date had been circled in glittery pink gel pen with the word ‘Anniversary!!’ written beside it in neat, round handwriting.

Even staring right at it, it was hard to believe. The mere idea that they’d already known Flutterina for two entire years was astounding - it still felt as if the two had only just met, and yet at the same time it felt like they’d known each other their whole lives.

Double Trouble looked around the place they'd grown to call home. An old sheet hung from the trees forming a sort of canopy, casting half of the log in shade along with the cavity in the Storage Tree, which was filled with all sorts of trinkets and the like. An picnic basket with spare food, enchanted so that the food would never decay, sat beside the tree, and spare blankets lay next to the log.

Double Trouble thought back to the day they’d met Flutterina. The log they’d sat her down on to fix up her leg had ended up being the site of many discussions of all kinds throughout the past couple of years. It had become_ their_ log. Their home.

They were so grateful that they met Flutterina when they did. They’d felt so lost when they ran away from the Crimson Waste, rejected by their family and friends, forced into a completely unfamiliar land with barely any survival supplies and no backup. They didn’t know what they would have done if they hadn’t heard Flutterina’s sweet laughter. What they would have become...

Double Trouble’s ear twitched as they heard a rustling in the trees. They smirked and waited, staying completely still until...

“HYAAH!!”

As Flutterina burst out from the bushes behind them, Double Trouble quickly sidestepped out of the way, sending the girl tumbling to the ground. The shapeshifter failed to contain their laughter at such a spectacular fall despite the pout they could tell Flutterina was giving them despite not being able to see her face. They managed to calm themselves down just in time to help Flutterina get to her feet, dramatically wiping away tears as they did so.

“A valiant attempt, but I’m afraid you made just a _touch_ too much noise~”

“Ugh,” Flutterina grumbled under her breath, brushing herself down. She had grown a lot on the past couple of years, now 13 years old. She had started wearing boots, which were much more fitting for combat training than the sandals she used to wear (despite the heart prints on the bottom), as well as a new style of dress with poofy sleeves and a golden choker around her neck. She almost looked like a princess herself.

Once she was sure she no longer had any grass stuck to her clothes, Flutterina turned back to Double Trouble with a smile and ran forward for their daily hug. Double Trouble remembered how shocked they were the first time she did this - they hadn’t been hugged in so many years, it was almost unfamiliar to them. It was a memory they would be sure to keep close for the rest of their life.

“So,” Flutterina chirped as she stepped back, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Did you remember what today is?”

“Hmm...” Double Trouble feigned ignorance, tapping their chin thoughtfully. “Is it National Bluebird Appreciation Day?”

“Double Trouble!” Flutterina groaned, seeing right through their act (though in their defence, they hadn’t truly been trying to deceive her).

Double Trouble laughed before taking Flutterina’s hand. “My apologies. Happy Anniversary, dear~” they said, miming kissing her hand.

“Jeez, you don’t have to make it sound like we’re married or something,” Flutterina joked.

“But are we not married?” Double Trouble replied with a gasp, letting go of her hand. “My dearest Flutterina, are you breaking up with me!?”

“Double-”

“Oh, woe is me! Say it isn’t so! My mind is in shambles, my heart torn apart! Why must fate decide to keep me so far away from my beloved?”

Flutterina burst into laughter, the same laugh that Double Trouble had first thought of as annoying but now sounded like music to their ears.

“Thank you, thank you!” they said with a bow and a flourish.

“Anyway,” Flutterina began once her giggles subsided. “I got something for you!”

“For...me?” Double Trouble quickly hid their surprise. “Why, I’m never one to turn down a gift from one of my adoring fans~”

Flutterina giggled again as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two bracelets. They were both made of pink and green thread, which was fraying in a lot of places, and one was slightly longer than the other.

“I made us friendship bracelets!”

“Friendship bracelets?”

“Right, I guess you wouldn’t have had these in the Crimson Waste,” Flutterina realised. “They’re matching bracelets that we both wear as a sign of our friendship! They technically don’t _have_ to be handmade, but I wanted to!” she shrunk away a little, nervous. “Do you like it?”

“Darling, I love it!” Double Trouble exclaimed, delicately picking up one of the bracelets and sliding it onto their wrist. They held their arm up into the air and admired it. It wasn’t particularly well made or fancy, but knowing the meaning behind it made it infinitely special to them. They turned back to Flutterina and pulled her into a hug.

Flutterina was surprised at first - it wasn’t the first time Double Trouble had initiated a hug, but they didn’t do it too often - but she didn’t take long to hug them back, smiling wide. “I’m so glad! I was worried it might not have been made well enough!”

“You should know by now that what something looks on the outside doesn’t matter to me,” Double Trouble reassured her. “It’s the true emotion that counts! And I can tell this was made with love. Thank you, Flutters.”

The two remained intertwined for a few moments more, hesitant to let go. Double Trouble was the first to end the embrace. “Now! I’ve been saving my spare change and was able to purchase a cake for us! Shall we dig in?”

“Heck yeah!” Flutterina cheered, bouncing to her feet and spreading her wings, hovering for a moment. She ran over to her spot on the log (indicated by a soft pink mat laid across the rough wood) and sat down as Double Trouble took the cake from the picnic basket along with a couple of plates, which they put on the ground in front of Flutterina, and sat down beside her.

“So, how’s school been going?” they asked as they lifted a slice of cake onto a plate.

“Uggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh” Flutterina groaned, tossing her head back

“Same as always, then?” Double Trouble grinned as they handed the plate to Flutterina.

“It’s not really school that’s the problem,” Flutterina explained, taking the plate. “I mean, it’s boring and hard, but really it’s just the _people_ that make it suck so much.”

“I can certainly understand that,” Double Trouble commented, fetching their own slice.

“Why do people always attack others for being a little different? Just because I wanna be a fighter and not a civilian, _apparently_ that makes it totally okay to be mean to me!” Double Trouble handed Flutterina a fork, which she quickly used to angrily stab at her slice. “And I can’t even fight back because the stupid teachers get mad and punish me for it, and I always get way more punishment than the bullies do! And I still haven’t found that guy who made you cry that one time...”

“You know, my offer still stands~”

“It’s fine, I really don’t want you getting into any trouble just to scare some kids.”

“Are you sure? Because I can certainly be rather frightening if I do say so myself~” Double Trouble purred, blinking sideways and flashing their pointed teeth.

Flutterina simply giggled. “You? No way, you wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she said, popping the fork into her mouth. “You’re way too sweet and nice.”

“I only became this way because of you, you know,” the shapeshifter argued. “I used to be a _lot_ more ruthless, and we both know I can still play the part~”

“Yeah good point,” as Flutterina used her fork to cut off another small segment of cake, she had a realisation. “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask, where have you actually been getting the money for stuff like this?”

“You’d be surprised at what kinds of trinkets you can find in these woods,” Double Trouble answered. “Interesting plants, pretty stones and whatnot, most of them not worth much, but the coins do add up over time.”

“Wait, you’ve been selling things in town?” Flutterina asked. “How come I never saw you?”

“You seem to be forgetting that I’m a master of disguise~” Double Trouble pointed out, momentarily shifting into a villager of the same species as Flutterina.

“Oh, right, duh,” Flutterina replied sheepishly. “I do kinda forget sometimes, since you don’t use your power that much around me!”

Double Trouble blinked as they changed back. She was right, they actually didn’t use their powers much around her. Back in the Crimson Waste they would use them all the time, even in conversations with their old friends. They supposed it was just because they trusted her so much, though they didn’t really have the courage to say so out loud.

“It’s kind of a shame, really,” Flutterina continued. “Your powers are super cool, it sucks that you don’t use them more...”

“That it is,” Double Trouble agreed. “I’d put myself up for hire if I could, but a small civilian village like yours has no use for the powers of lies and deception.”

“Yeah, I guess...” Flutterina replied, sounding lost in thought. Double Trouble stared at her as she raised her hand to her chin, thoughts flashing through her eyes in a way that Double Trouble found enchanting. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers and looked up. “I’ve got it!”

“Hm?”

“You should join the Rebellion with me!”

“Huh?!”

“Think about it!” Flutterina shouted, jumping to her feet, her wings rising with her as they always did. “A shapeshifter would be super useful in a war! You could confuse our enemies in battle, or act as a spy amongst them!”

“That’s...actually a very good idea!” Double Trouble agreed.

“And then, that way...” Flutterina’s voice grew quiet as she turned to Double Trouble and pulled their hands, lifting them to their feet. “We could stay together. We’d never have to be apart.”

Double Trouble smiled, their heart aflutter as they pressed their forehead to Flutterina’s. “I’d love that.”

* * *

The soft pitter-patter of rain on the canopy did little to calm Double Trouble’s nerves as they checked their pocket watch again with a frown. It had been two hours now since Flutterina was supposed to arrive for their training together, she’d never been this late. Double Trouble assured themselves that she’d be fine but they had a bad feeling about this that they couldn’t shake.

Suddenly they heard the rustling behind them and the specific sound of Flutterina’s footsteps. Immediately they turned around with a relieved smile.

“Flutterina-” their smile disappeared, replaced with a look of shock and horror as their best friend emerged into the light of the clearing.

Flutterina was leaning on a tree, unable to stand up straight due to a deep gash in her right leg, rivulets of blood trailing down it. Her arms and legs were covered in bruises and cuts, her hair barely staying in place and clothes covered in rips and tears. Tears poured down her face and mixed in with the blood that fell from a cut on her left cheek.

“D-double trouble..?”

“Flutterina!” Double Trouble rushed to Flutterina’s side, putting her arm around their shoulder in order to bring her out of the rain and under the canopy. “Flutterina, what happened?”

“The-” she flinched. “The Horde, they attacked my village and-ah!” she stumbled, barely staying in Double Trouble’s grasp. “I tried- I tried to fight them, but they, they...”

Flutterina held up her stick - the same one that she’d found two years ago and had been using ever since - which was now significantly shorter, one end of it burnt and looking as if it had been snapped off. The ribbons wrapped around the top had also been caught in the crossfire, seared at the edges.

“Oh, Flutters...”

Double Trouble’s ear twitched, picking up on the slightest sound of movement in the undergrowth.

“We need to move.”

Carefully but quickly, Double Trouble picked up Flutterina into a bridal carry, the same way they had on the day they met. But unlike that day, she didn’t fight them, instead curling up in their arms and burying her face in their shirt. They could hear her crying, trying to use the cloth to muffle the sounds of her sobs.

Double Trouble ran as fast as they could through the rough terrain of the Whispering Woods, doing their best not to fall over. They knew they’d be faster in the treetops, but they knew that a fall from that height could cause serious harm to both themselves and Flutterina, so they didn’t want to risk it. They didn’t want to shift into somebody faster either in case the new body shape threw them off - they couldn’t afford to risk it, they had to keep moving. The sounds were getting closer and they knew that a single stumble could mean the Horde catching up to them, and if the Horde caught up to them, then-

Double Trouble blinked away tears, willing themselves to move faster, to escape, to get Flutterina away from here, away from the danger and the pain. They didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened to her village, to her home, the horrors she would have had to see, the people she’d lost. But she’d be okay, she’d have to be, as long as she had them, as long as she had somebody, then she’d be okay, they just needed to get her out of here.

“There they are!”

No no nonononono!

Terror gripped Double Trouble’s heart as they heard the soldiers approaching, realising that it was no longer just the one. It was hard to tell without stopping to listen, but they counted four soldiers following behind them. They didn’t care to figure out why they were here at the moment and couldn’t afford to keep thinking about it, they had to focus on running. Desperately they looked around through the trees and plants until they spotted a thick bush.

They stopped in front of the bush and carefully laid Flutterina underneath it. She stared at them through the leaves.

“Double Trouble, what-”

“Hide under this bush,” they replied, their voice void of their usual sing-song intonations. “I’ll keep them distracted.”

“What, no-!”

“Stop right there!”

Double Trouble whipped around to face a small squad of Horde soldiers emerging from behind the trees. They heard rustling behind them and desperately hoped Flutterina was hidden enough for the soldiers not to see her.

“Where’s the girl?” one soldier - the leader, it seemed - demanded, removing his taser from his belt.

“What girl?” Double Trouble asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me!” the soldier shouted, thrusting the taser into Double Trouble’s abdomen. They shouted in pain and fell to their knees, surprised by the strength of the shock. They barely had time to recover before the leader grabbed their hair and dragged them to their feet.

“Tell me where the girl is!”

Double Trouble narrowed their eyes and glared, a smirk growing on their face as they changed form. The soldier immediately shouted in surprise and dropped them as their body turned to black and changed shape to stand in front of the leader, a mirror image of the man before him.

“Wha-what are you-”

His question was cut off by a swift punch to the face, knocking him onto his back. The other soldiers took this as their cue to attack, rushing forward from all sides. Double Trouble jumped backwards, their tail brushing against the bush where Flutterina was hiding.

They had to get away from her.

Double Trouble ducked another punch from one of the soldiers, grabbing his arm and throwing him at another. They rushed forward and tackled the two soldiers to the ground. The three of them wrestled on the ground until Double Trouble managed to separate themselves from the pile, watching as the other two soldiers fought each other, clearly thinking that the other was actually the shapeshifter, continuing to fight until one of them lost consciousness.

Double Trouble scrambled to their feet and jabbed their elbow behind them just in time to catch another soldier who was approaching. Before the soldier could react they turned around hit them with a strong punch to the head, enough to knock them out. Hearing the other soldier from earlier approaching, they grabbed him with their tail and whipped around, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

Double Trouble turned and looked at the three unconscious soldiers. They panted for breath and for a moment felt relief-

Wait, where was the last guy?

Suddenly that same electric shock from before pulsed through Double Trouble’s body from behind, sending them collapsing to the floor and causing them to drop their disguise. The soldier bent down in front of them. “Sweet little trick you got there.”

The leader got to his feet and attached the taser back to his belt, instead grabbing a laser gun and pointing it towards Double Trouble. The shapeshifter instinctively hopped backwards, and the soldier did nothing to stop them from backing away, keeping the gun aimed directly at them.

They both knew there was no way to escape. Double Trouble was weakened from the fight, unable to stand up without swaying, they wouldn’t have a chance to get away without being shot. They closed their eyes tight, failing to hold back tears as fear and regret swirled in their heart.

At least they managed to protect Flutterina...

As the soldier pulled the trigger, a desperate cry echoed through the woods.

“NO!”

Suddenly, standing between Double Trouble and the soldier, was Flutterina.

Explosions went off in the direction of the village, and the soldier ran off in the direction of the sound, dragging his comrades with him. Double Trouble barely noticed it, unable to hear anything other than Flutterina’s screams of pain, a sound that they knew would be forever etched in their mind.

It was all they could do to catch her as she collapsed, watching in horror as pink turned to red before their eyes. Blood poured from her stomach, staining her clothes and slowly dripping to the ground beneath her.

“Flutterina, Flutterina no...”

She wasn’t screaming anymore. She was heaving for breath, but her chest was barely rising. She tried to cover her wound but could barely lift her hand, could barely keep her eyes open. Suddenly, she stopped struggling, realising it to be pointless. A single tear ran down her face before she turned to look at her best friend.

“Double Trouble...”

“Flutterina?”

She smiled at them, reaching feebly for their hand. They held her close, one arm wrapped around her weakened form as their other hand took her far softer one. She squeezed their hand comfortingly.

“Don’t cry...”

“Flutterina...”

They knew it was hopeless. Her town was destroyed, and there was nowhere else close enough to get help in time. They knew she was going to die here.

“Please-” they pressed their forehead against hers. “Please don’t go. You promised you wouldn’t- you-” they choked back sobs. “You promised!”

“It’s...okay...” Flutterina squeezed their hand again. “You’ll be okay...”

Double Trouble disagreed, but nodded anyway. Flutterina smiled before snuggling deeper into their embrace.

“It’s...so cold...” she looked up at them. “But you’re so warm...”

Double Trouble could feel the tears running down their face, barely able to breathe through the sobs, but for once they didn’t care how much they cried. Their tears mixed with the rain falling from the sky, forming puddles not unlike the puddle of red that was forming underneath Flutterina’s body. They knew her time was running out, and they knew that when she died, part of them would die with her.

“Double...Trouble..?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t....forget me...okay?”

“Never,” they replied. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Flutters. You’re my best friend, and I...I’ll always love you...”

Flutterina smiled once more. “Love you too...Double...Trouble...”

Flutterina’s hand fell to her side as she took her last breath...

* * *

Double Trouble gasped as they awoke in a cold sweat inside their - Flutterina’s - tent outside of Bright Moon castle. They breathed heavily, slowly willing themselves to loosen their grip on the blanket they had been clutching. Memories of a past that seemed so distant now flashed through their mind as tears continued to roll down their face. It was their fault, it was all their fault, they hadn’t protected her, they hadn’t saved her, they should have done more, they never should have let her die, not like that, not for them-

They sat up, keeping their head lowered, letting their hair cascade past their face. They started to chuckle darkly, the chuckle turning to a snicker, and then to a laugh, until they threw their head back, laughing hysterically as tears rolled down their face.

Eventually their laughter faded, and they sighed.

“Double Trouble, you have _got_ to stop thinking that way about all those things.” they muttered to themselves. “After all...”

Double Trouble closed their eyes as they became enveloped in a green light, and Flutterina opened them.

“I’m right here, see?”

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda just loved the idea of Double Trouble and Flutterina being childhood friends and the concept kinda just exploded from there lmao
> 
> (if Double Trouble seems out of character remember that I pictured this happening like 6 years before canon. also the 'i love you's as the end were originally planned to be platonic love but you can see it as romantic if you want ^^)


End file.
